Sports

Brazilians Chase the Chinese Soccer Dollar

Published

9 years ago

April 10, 2015

In this Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 photo, Brazil’s Diego Tardelli, center, celebrates with Neymar, right, and his other teammates after winning a Brazil vs. Argentina friendly soccer match at the Bird’s Nest National Stadium in Beijing, China. Striker Tardelli this year became the first player from a Chinese club to be picked for Brazil’s national team. He was considered one of the top prospects in the country when he made the move to Shandong Luneng instead of taking up other deals that could have increased his profile. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

TALES AZZONI, AP Sports Writer

SAO PAULO (AP) — Most Brazilian players dream of making it to a top European football club. These days, though, some of the country’s most promising players are heading to a very different sporting nation.

China is fast becoming the new destination for some of Brazil’s best players, rather than the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga or the Bundesliga in Germany.

Thanks to hefty investments to boost soccer in the Asian country, Chinese teams have become much more attractive to Brazilian and South American players, making high salary offers that overshadow the players’ desire to move to better clubs in Europe.

China was the country that has spent the most on transfers from Brazilian clubs so far this year, topping almost $40 million in the signing of nine South American players, including two from Brazil’s national team.

“China is trying to become a global player in the sport, it wants to become relevant internationally,” said Fernando Ferreira, head of the Brazilian sports consultancy firm Pluri. “And signing some of the best players in Brazil is part of this process, it’s part of the strategy. They are coming to Brazil to gather ‘raw material,’ to find ‘skilled labor.'”

China has been steadily ramping up investments on foreign players and is the third country with the highest spending on international transfers in 2015, according to numbers released through FIFA’s transfer matching system, behind Germany ($118 million) and England ($174 million).

Chinese clubs have spent more than $85 million on the international market through March 17, FIFA said, more than five times it spent in 2013. They have already spent nearly $7 million more this year than in all of 2014.

Ukraine, Italy and Spain were the countries that spent the most to recruit players from Brazilian clubs between 2011 and 2014, but now they are all about to be surpassed by China. It has become harder for other markets to compete with the Chinese, especially for second-tier players not usually targeted by big-spending teams such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea. These players are now getting better offers from China than from the smaller European clubs that had been signing them.

“Players worth 3 or 4 million euros to teams in Europe now are being signed for about 10 million in China,” Ferreira said.

“Some European countries are not being able to sign as many players as before, and China has emerged as a new market, investing in football and taking away the best players and coaches to try to improve their game,” Brazil coach Dunga said. “We have to adapt to this the best way we can.”

Striker Diego Tardelli this year became the first player from a Chinese club to be picked for Brazil’s national team. He was considered one of the top prospects in the country when he made the move to Shandong Luneng instead of taking up other deals that could have increased his profile.

Before accepting the transfer, Tardelli said he called Dunga to ask if he would risk losing his place in the national team by going to a country that lacks football tradition.

“I told him that I won’t analyze a player just by taking into consideration where he is playing, I’ll analyze him based on his performance,” Dunga said. “But we have to understand that there will be more pressure on these players. If they don’t play well, people will quickly say that it’s because they went to a country where football is not as competitive.”

Tardelli said he will still be able to play at a top level in China.

“I’m not too worried, we play in some high-level competitions here,” he told Brazil’s SporTV. “Maybe the technical quality is not the same as in Brazil and Europe, but it’s not going to be a problem.”

Another high-profile Brazilian to move to Chinese football was 23-year-old playmaker Ricardo Goulart, who helped Cruzeiro win two-straight Brazilian league titles and was being looked at closely by some top European clubs after making his debut with Brazil last year.

Goulart’s reported $16.2-million move from Cruzeiro to Guangzhou Evergrande was the biggest transaction involving a Brazilian club in the latest transfer window, and the highest ever for a Brazilian player going to China.

With Brazilian clubs struggling financially, it’s difficult for players to reject big transfer fees and monthly salaries of about $350,000, nearly three times more than local clubs can afford to pay their top players. Established stars such as Neymar still make a lot more in the top European clubs, especially including earnings with sponsors and other endorsements.

Other players who left Brazilian clubs this year for the high salaries in China include Argentines Hernan Barcos and Dario Conca, as well as Bolivia’s Marcelo Moreno.

About 30 percent of the foreign players in China’s Super League are Brazilians or came from Brazilian clubs.

“This is going to continue for some time,” Ferreira said. “China will continue to be an attractive market to football players and we can only assume that the country will eventually succeed in its quest to become a world power in football.”

___

Follow Tales Azzoni on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tazzoni

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com

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O.J. Simpson, 76, Dies of Prostate Cancer

Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, who rose to fame as a college football player who went on to the NFL and parlayed his talents in acting and sportscasting, succumbed to prostate cancer on April 10, his family announced.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson. Wikipedia photo

By Post Staff

Born and raised in San Francisco, the Galileo High School graduate was recruited by the University of Southern California after he was on a winning Junior College All-American team.

At USC, he gained wide acclaim as a running back leading to him becoming the No. 1 pick in the AFL-NFL draft in 1969 and joining the Buffalo Bills, where he had demanded – and received — the largest contract in professional sports history: $650,000 over five years. In 1978, the Bills traded Simpson to his hometown team, the San Francisco 49ers, retiring from the game in 1979.

Simpson’s acting career had begun before his pro football career with small parts in 1960s TV (“Dragnet”) before “Roots” and film (“The Klansman,” “The Towering Inferno,” Capricorn One”).

He was also a commentator for “Monday Night Football,” and “The NFL on NBC,” and in the mid-1970s Simpson’s good looks and amiability made him, according to People magazine, “the first b\Black athlete to become a bona fide lovable media superstar.”

The Hertz rent-a-car commercials raised his recognition factor while raising Hertz’s profit by than 50%, making him critical to the company’s bottom line.

It could be said that even more than his success as a football star, the commercials of his running through airports endeared him to the Black community at a time when it was still unusual for a Black person to represent a national, mainstream company.

He remained on Hertz team into the 1990s while also getting income endorsing Pioneer Chicken, Honey Baked Ham and Calistoga water company products and running O.J. Simpson Enterprises, which owned hotels and restaurants.

He married childhood sweetheart Marguerite Whitley when he was 19 and became the father of three children. Before he divorced in 1979, he met waitress and beauty queen Nicole Brown, who he would marry in 1985. A stormy relationship before, during and after their marriage ended, it would lead to a highway car chase as police sought to arrest Simpson for the murder by stabbing of Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.

The pursuit, arrest, and trial of Simpson were among the most widely publicized events in American history, Wikipedia reported.

Characterized as the “Trial of the Century,” he was acquitted by a jury in 1995 but found liable in the amount of $33 million in a civil action filed by the victims’ families three years later.

Simpson would be ensnared in the criminal justice system 12 years later when he was arrested after forcing his way into a Las Vegas hotel room to recover sports memorabilia he believed belonged to him.

In 2008, he received a sentence of 33 years and was paroled nine years later in 2017.

When his death was announced, Simpson’s accomplishments and downfalls were acknowledged.

Sports analyst Christine Brennan said: “… Even if you didn’t love football, you knew O.J. because of his ability to transcend sports and of course become the businessman and the pitchman that he was.

“And then the trial, and the civil trial, the civil case he lost, and the fall from grace that was extraordinary and well-deserved, absolutely self-induced, and a man that would never be seen the same again,” she added.

“OJ Simpson played an important role in exposing the racial divisions in America,” attorney Alan Dershowitz, an adviser on Simpson’s legal “dream team” told the Associated Press by telephone. “His trial also exposed police corruption among some officials in the Los Angeles Police Department. He will leave a mixed legacy. Great athlete. Many people think he was guilty. Some think he was innocent.”

“Cookie and I are praying for O.J. Simpson’s children … and his grandchildren following his passing. I know this is a difficult time,” Magic Johnson said on X.

“I feel that the system failed Nicole Brown Simpson and failed battered women everywhere,” attorney Gloria Allred, who once represented Nicole’s family, told ABC News. “I don’t mourn for O.J. Simpson. I do mourn for Nicole Brown Simpson and her family, and they should be remembered.”

Simpson was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a year ago and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment, according to Pro Football Hall of Fame President Jim Porter. He died in his Las Vegas, Nevada, home with his family at his side.

He is survived by four children: Arnelle and Jason from his first marriage and Sydney and Justin from his second marriage. He was predeceased son, Aaren, who drowned in a family swimming pool in 1979.

Sources for this report include Wikipedia, ABC News, Associated Press, and X.

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Gov. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Host 2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony

Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8. The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Willie Brown, Former California Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor, was proud to be among the Hall of Fame inductees. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By California Black Media

Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8.

The 17^th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.

“The California Hall of Fame is one of our families’ favorite traditions as it is a time to come together to celebrate remarkable Californians as well as their loved ones because we know that it is about partnerships,” Siebel Newsom said. “The governor likes to say that California is a dream factory because it doesn’t matter what zip code or background you come from, the California dream is alive and well to everyone who calls this state home.”

The other Black honorees were filmmaker Ava DuVernay; Federal Judge and civil rights leader, the Hon. Thelton Henderson; and basketball Hall of Fame player and broadcaster Cheryl Miller.

“It’s what I’ve been waiting for and to be among a great group of individuals that also deserve the honor,” Brown told California Black Media on the event’s red carpet before the ceremony began. “No, I never thought someone from Texas would be recognized this way. But here I am, and it all happened in the great state of California. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Other 2024 inductees are: master chef and “mother of fusion cuisine” Helene An; computer scientist and “father of the internet” Vincent A. Cerf; all-female pop punk band The Go-Gos; Chicano Rock band Los Lobos; former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Congressman Leon E. Panetta; and artistic director and choreographer Brenda Way.

This year’s honorees join a history-making club with over 150 inspirational Californians previously inducted for their groundbreaking achievements and personifying the state’s innovative spirit.

“It’s just a humbling experience. I want to thank the Governor and First Partner. Who would have thought 100 years ago (that I would be inducted?) It’s incredible,” Miller said after her induction. “I want to thank the governor and First Partner for an incredible event.”

During his acceptance speech, Henderson said he was deeply honored.

“You know, it really would have been a really big deal to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the area where I grew up, for example, South Central Hall of Fame, or the Watts Hall of Fame, or the Straight Out of Compton Hall of Fame,” he said. “But being inducted into the California Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame of the greatest state in the country in this great nation is something else.”